Senior Minister within the Office of the President with the Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh said that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) faces serious challenges regarding its long-term viability and work has commenced looking at recommendations to implement lasting reforms to the institution.
He said that the last actuarial valuation of the Scheme done in 2016 revealed serious deficiencies with the find and that the government is now analyzing the recommendations with the view of reforming the system to ensure long-term viability.
“The National Insurance Scheme is an extremely important national institution which has served Guyana well, but which is in need of serious reform, both from the administrative and policy standpoints. Administratively, the Scheme has a longstanding reputation for administrative inefficiency and is a major source of frustration to its contributors and pensioners alike,” he said during Wednesday’s budget speech.
At the end of 2020, the government appointed a new Board of Directors for the Scheme and mandated it to address the longstanding administrative problems. Singh reported that much has been achieved since then and that the process is a continuous one.
He further explained that NIS rolled out its technology-based solutions inclusive of an online call-in-function for submission of life certificates and processing of other transactions. Additionally, NIS also conducted a series of outreaches throughout the country, listening and addressing public concerns.
“Ten such outreaches were held and 1,606 persons were seen. The outreaches proved extremely popular and effective in addressing public complaints, and almost 75 percent of the matters raised have since been resolved,” Singh reported.
During his 2021 budget speech, Singh had said that successive actuarial studies have highlighted the need for significant reforms to address issues related to the viability of the Scheme. He had committed to the government undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the recommendations to determine the way forward.
Listing the priority areas back then, Singh had said that the government need to ensure that NIS brings contributors’ records up to date and that they receive their benefits in a timely manner.
“…even as we undertake these analytical reviews, we must ensure that the NIS addresses the operational inefficiencies that currently obtain. Numerous complaints have been made constantly by contributors over the years regarding the quality of service provision, and missing documentation and records. The Scheme must ensure that these concerns are addressed with the utmost urgency. Contributors’ records must be updated promptly and accurately. Government has tasked the Scheme to set up a special project to address these operational issues,” he had said.
NIS has been a sore point for successive governments with contributors complaining bitterly about the slothfulness of processing claims as well as the royal run around to address issues.
